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Tremona Tremona celebrates his victory in Paris. Photo: AP
photo: American AP Association
Australian super heavyweight boxer Teremoana Teremoana could become only the second boxer of Pacific Island descent to win a medal at the Olympics.
Tonga’s Paea Wolfgramm was the first Pacific Island boxer to win an Olympic medal, winning silver at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
No other Pacific boxer could do that.
Tremoana, who has Cook Islands connections, beat Ukraine’s Dmytro Lovchinsky in the first round in Paris on Tuesday morning (NZ time), paving the way for him to continue his dream of making history of his own.
Tremoana was reported to have dominated the men’s over-92kg preliminaries, knocking down Lovchinsky before eventually defeating him with about half a minute left in the first round.
The win was sweet revenge for Tremoana, who lost to Lovczynski on points last September.
The win sets up the Australian for a fascinating quarter-final clash with defending gold medalist Bahodir Djalolov of Uzbekistan on Saturday.
He punched his ticket to Paris after becoming Australia’s super heavyweight champion in 2023, having defeated Samoan Elijah Mercury-Leafa at the Pacific Games in the Solomon Islands last November.
Tremona Tremona celebrates his victory in Paris.
photo: American AP Association
In a message to fans, Tremoana said he was grateful for the support he has received from his family, friends, sponsors, the Australian team and the fans.
“I didn’t get this position on my own,” he said.
“I’m going to do everything I can to win this gold medal. I know I have what it takes to do it.”
Tremoana earlier told Olympic media he would compete on behalf of his family and focus on doing well.
If he does get the ultimate reward, he will fight for his family once again and ensure the name Teremoana is remembered.
“I just want to represent us in life. That’s my goal,” he said, adding, “I want our name to go down in history forever.”
“When I win a gold medal at the Olympics, I’ve achieved success.”
In the final group match on Tuesday morning, New Zealand was far superior to Fiji.
photo: ONOC/Kirk Corey
Fiji loses in Paris
The Fijian women’s rugby sevens team failed to live up to expectations at the Paris Olympics, failing to register a single win over the two-day tournament.
The 40-12 loss to China in the second group match was a major upset in the group stage.
Well, a 28-22 defeat to Brazil means the team must now play South Africa for 11th and 12th spots on Wednesday morning New Zealand time.
Fiji reached the quarter-finals at the 2016 Olympics and won a bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
But they have struggled in their four games in Paris so far.
They lost to Canada 17-14, China 40-12 and New Zealand 38-7 in the group stage.
Meanwhile, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States will compete for two final spots on Wednesday morning.
New Zealand will face the United States, while Australia and Canada will meet in the second semi-final.
On Wednesday morning, newly promoted team China will compete against Team Britain for fifth to eighth place.
Nera Tiebwa (white) of Kiribati competes against Daria Bilodid (blue) of Ukraine during the women’s 57kg judo competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Champ de Mars Stadium in Paris, France, on July 29, 2024.
photo: ONOC Communications/Kirk Corrie
Not won yet
No Pacific Island athletes won a single victory at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday morning.
Samoan boxer Ato Faoagali lost 0-5 to his Belgian opponent in the men’s 92kg category.
In judo, William Tai Tin of Samoa, Nera Tiebwa, 15, of Kiribati, and Maria Escano of Guam all failed to make it past the preliminaries.
Fiji’s Vicky Wu was the first male player to represent Fiji in the Olympic table tennis competition, but she also failed to make it past her first match.
Vanuatu’s Priscilla Tommy also lost in her table tennis match against American Amy Wang.
Samoa’s Ato Plozki-Faoagali will represent Samoa in the men’s boxing competition at the Paris Nord Olympic Games in Paris, France on July 28, 2024
photo: ONOC Communications/Casey Sims
Meanwhile, the PNG team’s events will continue with swimmer Josh Tarere competing in the 100m freestyle, athlete Leonie Beu will compete in the 100m on Friday, August 2, and swimmer Georgia-Leigh Vele will compete in the 50m freestyle on Saturday, August 3.
Weightlifter Morea Baru will compete in the 61kg category on Wednesday, August 7, kickboxer Kevin Kassman will compete in the -68kg category on Thursday, August 8, and Gibson Mara will compete in the +80kg category on Saturday, August 10.
Vanuatu’s Jonathan Silas will compete in the men’s 100m freestyle while women’s sprinter Chloe David will have her first race in the 100m dash on Friday.
Loane Russet will compete in the women’s 50-meter freestyle on Sunday, while weightlifter Ajah Pritchard-Lolo will also compete in the 81-kilogram category on Sunday.
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